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Scaredy Cats
Scaredy Cats is the 36th arc in Housepets!. This arc establishes that Sabrina D'Angelo is an ex-girlfriend of Maxwell. It also establishes Sabrina's paranormal powers, something hinted at when she was first shown with Tarot in the arc Oops I Arced. Characters * Maxwell * Marvin * What chicken * Zach Arbelt * Grape * Mr. Bigglesworth (at least five of them) * Tarot * Sabrina * Spookmaster * Woodland critters Story Maxwell challenges Marvin on Halloween to stay in an abandoned mansion overnight. If either one of them, or any of their recruited assistants, runs away before dawn, they lose the challenge. Marvin recruits Zach and his animal friends from the forest, though it's clear Zach may not be up to the challenge. Max recruits Grape and the Bigglesworths, but he wants a backup plan in case their "Hall of Mirrors" trick doesn't work. When Grape suggests utilizing Tarot, Max disagrees because when he sees Tarot's work, he thinks of Stephen King, which may backfire. Tarot offers her assistant, Sabrina, but Max balks again because Sabrina is his ex-girlfriend. That alone is enough for Grape to demand she tag along. Unfortunately, Sabrina detects absolutely no paranormal activity at the abandoned mansion. As night falls, the contestants enter the mansion. Marvin tries to get Zach to check on their animals again, but the rabbit doesn't want to split up, so Zach does it himself. Max tries to show Zach to their room, but certain it's booby-trapped, he stays behind in the foyer alone. Soon he explores the mansion, and comes across a room where five of the Mr. Bigglesworth cats, disguised as ghosts, claim Zach killed them. Zach faints, but the Bigglesworths aren't sure if that counts the same as fleeing the mansion. Marvin finds Zach unconscious, but can't leave the mansion to get smelling salts, so he's stuck alone for the rest of the night. Max, however, is also alone as Grape has already fallen asleep. Sabrina, thinking her ex-boyfriend is too full of himself, summons a ghost, Spookmaster, to teach him a lesson. She bluntly insists that he is not to be physically harmed. Spookmaster agrees, mainly because Sabrina can make bold text on an Ouija board. As Max roams the mansion, he opens a glowing door, thinking it's Marvin's trick. He is grabbed by a burly pair of glowing arms, and sent across a terrifying set of imagery of decrepit creatures... Sitting alone Inside your dark home Surrounding yourself with plenty You don't stop and think In the space of a blink What if it's taken away? Snatched from your hand like a candle-lit flame You won't be prepared when they all shout your name Close yourself off while your life is unfurled Don't think of death or the end of the world Don't give an ear to the quietest fear of all Should you be unprepared for the barrier to fall Shut out the light, shut out the light Shatter the glass, shout at the night Eventually, Max is thrown out of the room, stunned. When a couple of the forest animals try to spook him with rudimentary ghost outfits, he screams in terror. The next morning, Maxwell has lost, and admits to Marvin that he's chicken. Sabrina proceeds to taunt him, bidding him not to succumb to the night terrors. He apologizes to Grape for being a coward, but she says it's okay, because she had no faith in his bravado in the first place. Events *First appearance of the What Chicken running gag. *Sabrina is revealed to be a psychic-in-training, learning under Tarot. *We learn that Sabrina and Max used to date in the past. Trivia *Zach's "Ghost Protection" wear includes a Ghostbusters Jumpsuit & Photon Pack, heat-vision goggles, Joss paper, a carton of Holy Water and a necklace of garlic. Category:2010 Category:Story Arcs Category:Comics Category:Halloween